[Photo credit: Lendingmemo]
My husband and I are currently in the process of paying off our credit cards (one of my new year resolutions). Getting out of debt is more than just paying things down, it’s changing your routine and breaking bad habits. I thought it would be helpful to share my experience and hopefully inspire some others.
- Create a Budget: My husband and I have been using the budgeting system YNAB (You Need a Budget) for a few years. It a little complex but once you get the hang of it, it’s totally worth it.
- Challenges: YNAB encourages users to combine their checking and savings into one account and use the YNAB system to do checks and balances. The YNAB interface is your source of truth. This helps users stick to their budgets and not overspend.
- Benefits: You can create various categories for your budget, plan for the future, and allocate your money down to the dollar in order to save.
- Develop a Strategy: Start with the card that has the lowest balance, and then proceed to the next. The idea is to create a snowball effect and use the amount that you used on the previous card for the next in line.
- Change Your Mindset and Lifestyle: This one is tough. My old self would come home from work and do a little online shopping, my favorite past time. I kid I kid, but not really. To break a bad habit try to stay busy – work out, cook a good meal, etc. Find new interests and hobbies.
- Unsubscribe from Retail Emails: This tip is not for the faint of heart, but for those who are serious about getting out of debt. I have not made this leap yet – how could I unsubscribe from my favorite retailers (J.Crew and Loft)!
- Create an Emergency Fund: During this time you will also want to save some cash. Pick a dollar amount and put that same amount away every month. Soon you’ll find that you have saved a lot of cash, and who doesn’t want that. This way if an emergency comes up, you don’t have to rely on your credit card and fall back into old habits.
- Give Yourself an Allowance: Nobody said you have to go cold turkey. It’s not easy to stop spending if this is the lifestyle that you have grown accustom to. Allow yourself some spending money to use however you like. Just make sure to stick to the amount you have budgeted. You don’t want to jeopardize all your hard work.
I hope you find these tips helpful. If you have some of your own advice, please share it in the comments.
Nice post.
Thank you!
Very cool Post! Great Tips!
Heather
http://www.thefab3.com
Thanks Heather.
Great tips! This is such an important thing, and something not a lot of people talk about! I think this post is great!
http://www.tailoredandtrue.wordpress.com
Thanks Caitlin for your comment. I appreciate. Glad you enjoyed the post and that you found it helpful.
I totally needed this! I have a horrible spending habit. I just can’t seem to save money! Whether its buying a new top I love or getting my mom a little gift, I just have to spend. I’m gonna give up shopping for Lent and then see where to go from there.
So glad you enjoyed this post. Thanks for commenting. Best of luck on reducing your spending. It can be tough but totally worth it. 🙂
I so need this. I’m a massive shopaholic! Unsubscribing from emails is a really good idea…and I should probs try #6 too. Thanks for the tips (and good luck from a fellow shopping addict)!
I’m a shopaholic too! Glad you enjoyed the tips. Thanks for the encouragement. 😀
These are all excellent tips- Thanks Asa! It’s always good to be reminded… particularly the bit about retail emails 😉
Thanks Tania. Glad you enjoyed.
Very insightful tips! I agree it’s important to budget wisely and give yourself a wiggle room. Kind of like dieting where you need to be mindful of what you eat (in this case what you buy) but also have a treat every now and then. Thanks for the share Asa have a great weekend! 🙂 xo~ Lena
http://www.felinecreatures.com
Thanks Lena. You’re right in your comparison to dieting and budget. You have to be realistic and allow some wiggle room in order to stay on track.
This is really good tips Asa. I am of the school of thought that if you do not allocate money to things, things will aloocate money to themselves. Thanks for sharing them.
Have a great weekend.
Mojisola
http://www.mojintouch.com
Thanks Mojisola. Glad you enjoyed the post. I agree with you 100 % about allocating money, I couldn’t have said it better.
This post is so nice. Great tips! 🙂
April of: https://beybiapril.wordpress.com
Instagram: @beybiapril
Thank you.
I moved from california to Copenhagen and one of the things I noticed is that debt is practically non existent here! They are really strict about loans, credit cards, and people just don’t really have them as a rule. I, on the other hand, came with my wallet full of them! Interesting cultural difference. Now I’ve cut down to 2 and I feel much better hehe 🙂
http://www.danikamaia.com
Thanks for stopping by Danika. Very interesting about Copenhagen. Thanks for sharing.
Such amazing and helpful tips Asa. Have a awesome weekend babe. Kiss,
Mel
http://www.livingoncloude9.com
Thanks Mel.
Hope your weekend was nice.
These are all really great tips! It is always so helpful hearing from others and learning what they know! 🙂
xxx
Camilla
http://avenuecamilla.com
Thanks Camilla. Glad you found it useful.
A necessary cruelty to place money management tips on a fashion blog…
– Tash
great tips 😉 thanks for sharing!
Welcome. Glad you enjoyed.
Great tips, especially on the point about changing bad spending habits! Thanks for sharing!
Prudence
http://www.prudencepetitestyle.wordpress.com
Thanks Prudence.
Great tips! Thank you for sharing! <3
Fashionably,
Patricia
http://www.wingsforliberty.com/
Thank you.
Great tips, thanks for sharing! My dad always used to say not to spend the money if you don’t have it :), and it’s so true!
Happy Monday, love!
xoxo, Vanessa
http://www.whatwouldvwear.net
these are some really great tips! I need to keep watching out my spending habits too! thanks for sharing!
lifeisashoe
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed.
Great tips!
Great tips. I’m learning a lot from you. Thanks for sharing. Love your blog.
Love,
Gly
http://destinedtobegreat.14webs.com/
Instagram : @chasing_potatoes